Random. Such a good word (for the most part). And one that I think fairly often while watching this show. Nothing in the plot is original – four quirky kids doing stuff that has been done by every other group of quirky kids before them, sometimes even doing the same things as they did in a prior episode. But the character interaction is great.

The writers of the show have perfected the art of dialogue (and believe you me, if some action series were to consider hiring one of these guys, the whole genre would be revolutionized). The kids are only in junior high, but they aren’t treated by the scripts as though they were brain-damaged gerbils. Tino, especially, is quite the little wise-acre, displaying signs of a healthy appreciation for mordant sarcasm and dark irony (and by “displays signs of appreciation,” I mean “directly references, points out, and utilizes constantly”). This does my heart good to see a group of kids with the sense of humour I had at their age, but also able to enjoy life. Wish I had been that mature at the time.

Like the majority of the shows I’ve been watching lately, Weekenders is character driven. The characters are what drew me in and what keep me watching. So, we have:

Carver Descartes (Phil LaMarr): Aspires to be popular. Likes shoes. Loves shoes. Is rather obsessive about shoes. Rather self-centered. But he’s not as much of a loser as he sounds, I promise. I’m having a hard time explaining why, though.

Tish Katsufrakus (Kath Soucie): The intellectual vegetarian writer/musician (wow...just described several of my friends...). But she’s not your stereotypical intellectual vegetarian writer/musician. She enjoys wasting time with her friends at the video arcade, listening to Chum Bukkit, and watching movies with words like “attack,” “mutant,” and “slime” in the title.

Lor McQuarrie (Grey DeLisle): A bit of a tomboy, Lor has an ever-fluctuating, but always large, number of brothers and a tough-as-nails granny. But she’s not against wearing a pink shirt or giggling coquettishly from time to time.

Tino Tonitini (Jason Marsden): Doesn’t really fit any stereotype (which I love), he’s just a kid with a crackly-dry sense of humour (which I love more) and an understandable fear of the stuff he gets fed while garnering advice from his mother. Which is another fabulous source of interaction. Tino’s mother is bloody awesome.

Thanks to The Weekenders Shrine for the pictures.

Later days!
Created February 5, 2004.